England international Rodwell left his boyhood club yesterday evening to link up with Premier League champions Manchester City.

Despite admitting that Rodwell is a player of great potential, Neville believes that there is enough quality at Goodison Park to cover the midfielder's exit.

"I think, first and foremost, it's sad to see Jack go," said Neville. "He's been a lad who first trained with us when he was 16. You've seen him grow and mature and turn into an England international.

"I think we have got a number of players that can play in midfield, but Jack provided great competition. With any young player, you do get inconsistency with performances. I think we saw that with Jack at times.

"He produced some unbelievable performances in the big occasions for us. The disappointing thing was that he never quite sustained it when he was about to break through.

"We are quite strong in central midfield, bearing in mind that Jack hadn't played for the last six months, so I'm sure we can cope with that."

Reports have claimed that youngsters Ross Barkley and Francisco Junior will be promoted to the senior squad on a regular basis in the wake of Rodwell's transfer.